


Hawkeye the Herald

by Alexicon



Series: prompted on tumblr [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Background Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-03
Updated: 2015-12-03
Packaged: 2018-05-04 16:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5340992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexicon/pseuds/Alexicon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>More on the bet Clint lost in <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/4990642">Laser Show</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hawkeye the Herald

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CaliFornia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaliFornia/gifts).



> This is a birthday gift for CaliFornia. Happy birthday!
> 
> [Prompt](http://lexiconallie.tumblr.com/post/134441937468/oh-gosh-i-have-the-worst-luck-i-just-came-from):
>
>> It's concerning Laser Show. I'd love a fic about the bet Clint lost and had to anounce Bucky's presence.

“I want to make a bet,” Kate announced as she walked in the door and threw her purse down on the ground like a gauntlet. She picked it up again and checked the inside to make sure nothing had broken, but it was the thought that counted.

“What about?” asked Clint, looking up from his hand of cards. He and Bucky were playing Gin Rummy and Clint had been losing spectacularly, although he thought he had a good hand this time.

“Hi, Bucky,” said Kate. Bucky grunted in reply and drew a card from the deck before throwing the same card down in apparent dismay. Kate switched her attention back to Clint. “You know how I don’t like making bets with you because you’re a dirty cheater,” she started.

“It’s not cheating if I’m just better than you,” Clint pointed out, at which Bucky snorted. Kate ignored them both with great dignity.

“But this is a bet I’m pretty sure I’m going to win.”

“Why would I take it if you’re going to win?”

“Because it’s about your dog,” Kate said.

Bucky laid down his cards. Clint stared at them for a moment.

“Fuck,” he said.

Five minutes later, Bucky was lounging like a king on the beanbag chair in the corner as Clint and Kate sat on the floor about six feet from a pair of arrows sitting on the ground. Lucky stood between them, looking very happy about this bet.

Clint went first.

“All right, Pizza Dog, get me the arrow.” Lucky did not get the arrow.

Clint whispered, “If you go grab me that arrow, I’ll give you pizza.” Lucky wagged his tail and licked Clint’s hand.

He did not grab the arrow.

“Come here, Pizza Dog,” Kate said. “Fetch that for me.” She pointed at her arrow and waited, holding back her triumphant yells until after Lucky had dropped the arrow at her feet.

Clint groaned at the treat Kate passed off to his dog. “Bribery,” he accused.

“Dog training,” Kate countered. “Bucky, your call?”

“I’ll allow it,” said Bucky. Clint collapsed onto the sofa.

“So, what do you have planned for me?”

Kate looked panicked for a second and glanced around the room desperately. “Um,” she said, “you have to...ah! Bucky!”

“No,” said Bucky.

“Yes,” said Kate. “You have to follow Bucky around for, um, three weeks, and announce his presence wherever he goes. Like a herald.”

(“No,” Bucky said again. Neither of them paid attention to him.)

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” said Clint.

(Bucky groaned, long and heartfelt.)

A terrifying smile took over Kate’s face. “Oh, just you wait. Just. You. _Wait_.”

“I’m waiting,” Clint replied.

It really wasn’t all that bad. For a horrifically intimidating Soviet assassin (yes, Clint used that--Bucky actually grinned at that one), Bucky Barnes was a remarkably patient man. That probably shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was, considering the fact that the man had been a sniper, and before that, he had not only put up with Steve Rogers’ special brand of pigheadedness, but actively enjoyed it and generally found Steve to be hilarious when he got in one of those moods. (Clint had never said Bucky Barnes was a _sane_ man.)

When Natasha and Bucky had an appointment to spar, Clint followed along. Natasha intimidated Clint into correcting his announcement to ‘ _second_ most frightening Russian agent’, and made a pleased sound at the position left to her.

Clint took to shadowing Bucky around, so much so that late in the first week, he came to the Barnes-Rogers residence in the morning much earlier than he usually woke up. He stepped out of the elevator and buzzed the intercom once to be let in. Bucky answered the door with jeans and an undershirt on and his hair still wet.

“You want to get an early start or something?” Bucky asked, apparently not expecting an answer as he continued, “Wait here, I gotta brush my teeth.”

Clint stared as he walked away and tried to make a decision.

“Well, what have I got to lose?” Clint muttered to himself, following in Bucky’s footsteps to the bathroom.

Clint flung the door open and started, “Here he is, Bucky Barnes--”

Rudely interrupting Clint’s intro, Steve emitted a shriek unbecoming of an officer and pelted shampoo bottles at Clint (which was obviously a sign that there’s too much shampoo in the Rogers-Barnes household shower. Clint snagged a bottle and slipped it into his pocket. He didn’t think they’d miss it). Bucky rolled his eyes at the both of them before picking Clint up under his arms and carrying him out to the elevator, wherein he pushed Natasha’s floor button and sauntered back to the bathroom with a terrifying spring in his step.

(Later, at the briefing meeting for a short mission they were to take the next day, Steve stared him down with an unexpectedly fierce gaze. Apparently, bathrooms were sacred in the Barnes-Rogers clan.)

Clint ran out of things to call Bucky about halfway through the second week, which was honestly a lot more time than he had predicted. He’d consulted a thesaurus, of course, but even he had had no idea how many combinations he could put together. The last original one he gave the world was ‘James Buchanan Barnes, Steve’s friend’, which made the big bad assassin and his super-soldier friend sniffle at each other and smile. Clint was not too proud to admit that he ran away from their little bonding session.

Natasha and Clint caught them eating from enormous tubs of ice cream and watching terrible oldies later. That was when they hatched the plan to have a laser tag game, which went incredibly well. Hopefully, they could make it a semi-regular thing.

(Then, three days before time ran out, Thor came a-visiting from Asgard and introduced Clint to the concept of _kennings_. Steve nearly punched both of them in the face.)

(Bucky thought it was all hilarious, but he especially loved Steve’s frustration. He felt it was appropriate vengeance for Steve’s _Steveness_.)

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://lexiconallie.tumblr.com/)!


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